Seal for bottles.



No. 814,531. PATENTED MAR. 6, 1906.

' G. H. GILLETTE.

SEAL FOR BOTTLES.

APPLICATION FILED SEE-110.1901. RENEWED APR.25',1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

lNVENTOR:

WITNESSES:

No. 814,531- PATENTBD MAR. 6, 1906.

' G. H. GILLETTE.

SEAL FOR BOTTLES.

APPLICATION FILED SBPT.10. 1901. RENEWED APR.25,1904.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

INVENTOR:

WITNESSES:

GEORGE H. GILLETTE, OF NEW YORK, N.

Y., ASSIGNOR To THE OROWN CORK AND SEAL 00., ()F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ACORPORATION OF MARYLAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

SEAL FOR BOTTLES- Patentad March 6, 1906.

Application filed September 10, 1901. Renewed'April 25, 1964. Serial No. 204.719.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. GILLETTE,

a, citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and- State of New York, have invented certain new and midrib-Improvements in Seals for Bottles, of which the following is aspecification.

. My invention provides certain im rove ments in bottle-seals and in washers or use therein whereby the effectiveness of the seal is increased, it adapts itself easil to irregularities in the mouth of the bott e, the contents are protected from contact with corrosive material, and the'cost as compared with equally effective seals of other types is much reduced.

and 19 and 20 shape of the month My invention provides also a seal having various other advantages, which are hereinafter specified in detail. I

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are sections of diflerent embodiments of iny invention in juxtaposition to a bottle-head to which they are adapted. Fig. 3 is. a similar section, on a somewhat larger scale, showing the sealin use. Figs. 4 and 5 are sections of the washer and lining, respectively, of the seal shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 6 and 7 are similar views of another form of washer and lining. Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11 are further embodiments of my improved seal. Fig. 10 isa view in section, showing the closure of Fig. 10a plied to the bottle. Fig. 12 is a section on t e line '12 1,2 of Fig. 3, showing the adaptability of my improved seal to bottle-mouths of irregular shape and thickness. Fig. 13 is a sectionof my improved washer made as a complete article of manufacture, Fig-14 showin the same in use. Figs. 15 and 16, 17 an 18,

bodiments of my improved washer. F' s. 21 and 22 are sections of further embodiments of the same. Fig. 23 is a section of my improved washer in connection with a modified cap.

According to one feature of my invention provide a retaining-cap of the usual or any suitable-form, within which I providea washer, which washer is preferably made. with a downwardly-projecting central portion of soft metal adapted to assume the of a bottle when pressed are similar views of otherem thereinto and which is also preferably laterally self-adjusting independent of the adjustment of the cap, so as to enable it to center itself on the mouth of the bottle independently of the position of the cap. The independence of the cap and washer is preferably secured by making them in separate pieces.

At the same time I am enabled to make the cap of almost any metal and make the washer of a different non corrosive material, since only the latter comes in contact with the contents of the bottle.

According to another feature of my invention I may make a lining-washer as a cornplete'article of manufacture for use in connection .with any suitable means for holding it down, such as the caps above referred to, this washer being preferably non-corrosive and preferably comprising in combination a packing-ring surrounding a central metallic non corrosive portion adapted to fit the mouth of the bottle closely, so as to keep the contents of the bottle from contact with even the a packing ring, so that the latter only serves to kee the closure air-tight and does not need to he made of material which will resist the chemical action of the contents of the bottle.

' Referring now to the drawings, A is a retaining-cap, which may be of any style adapted to be fastened down on the head of a bottle and is shown as an ordinary plane-topped cap having depending flanges which are adaptedto be crlmped or bent under a shoulder on theoutside of the head of the bottle. In connection with the retaining-cap I propose to use a washer which'may be made 1118. variety of forms, of which two are shown in Figs. 4 and 6 separately from the ca This washer comprises a packing-ring an a member which in every case I call a lining and which may assume a variety of shapes and may be connected with the packing-ring in a variety of ways.

The lining may e' permanently fastened to the packing-ring, so as to' form a complete article of manufacture in itself, as by means of cementmg material, from the friction of the ring on a central rejection of the lining, or in .a variety of ot er ways, some of which will be specified in detail hereinafter, or the lining and the packing-ring, which together form the washer, maybe separate fromeach other, as well as separate from the retaining-cap, being held together only when in actual use on the head of a bottle. In Fig. 1 the packing-ring B is shown as a comparatively broad annular ring of rubber, cork, or other suitable material arranged to extend over the lip C of the bottle. The packing-Ting, however, may be of other proortions than those shown. The lining mem- Ber D, as shown, for example, in Fig. 5, may consist of a central downwardly-projecting gortion E, which lies within the packing-ring and of a rim F, whichextends over the packing-ring B to any desired distance. The

rin may fit the projection E so closely as to be eld thereon by friction, or it may be cemented. to the lining member D either at the projection or at the rim, or it may be fastened thereto in any suitable way or may be, in fact, separate therefrom except when in use. The proportions of the various parts of the lining may be varied considerably, the central portion, for exam le,projecting more or less into 'themouth o the bottle or being entirely fiat, as desired. For example, in Fig. 2 the parts are the same as in Fig.1, except that t e pro'ection E of the lining memher is deeper an is adapted to fit the mouth of the bottle closely when forced down into the mouth under pressure. For this pur ose the linin member is made of comparatively 'soft flexi le material, and which is preferably also noncorrosivesuch, for exam 1e, as aluminium. It may, however, be 0 other material and ma be nickeled, japanned, or lacquered to ma e it non-corrosive. uminium is especially" adapted to those forms of my invention in which the projection is designed to fit the bottle mouth closely and form a sort of secondary seal, which is erhaps not as air-tight as rubber or cork, ut which is sufficiently tight to keep the contents of the bottle from contact with the packing-ring.

The use of .my improved seal in so far as it has been already explained is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 12. The ca A, containing the lining member and pac ing-ring in roper position, is set on the head of the bott e and ressed down by any suitable mechanism.

he packing-rin B is compressed between the cap and the ip of the bottle, the strongest com ression coming upon the inner portion of t e ring by reason of the rim F of the lining member extending onl to about .the center of the wall or lip C o the bottle, as shown. The packing is thus compressed very strongly both at the highest pint of the lip and at the inner. corner of the p between the vertical wall of the projectionoi the lining and the horizontal rim of the lining. The

arts being held in this position, thecap A iias the lower edge of its flange bent under a shoulder on the head of a bottle in the usual way or is fastened down by any other suitable means, thus maintaining an air-tight der it stiff seal. Where the projection E of the lining member is designed to enter the mouth of a bottle to a considerable extent, as in Fig. 3, it also presses at the sides ti htly a ainst the mouth of the bottle below the pac 'ng-ring, so as to protect the latter from contact with the contents of the bottle. By making the washer comprising the lining member and the packing-ring separate from the cap, as shown, the washer will center itself by shifting in the cap, if necessary in order to do this, and by making the lining member of suitable soft metal or thelike it adapts itself to any shape of mouth. These are features of my invention which adapt it admirably to use with bottles having irregularities of shape or thickness at the mouth, such as are met with to a large extent in nearly all bottles now manufactured. concentric with the outside and the washer were not capable of adjustment relatively to the cap, then there would often result a failure of the seal or a breakage of the bottle in an attempt to press the seal down on it. Similarly, also. if the mouth of the bottle is not a true circle, the member which enters the 'mouth would not seal equally well at all points in the circumference unless it were made of soft material capable of being distorted to assume the exact shape of the mouth of the bottle. For example, in Fig. 12, C shows the wall of a bottle having a noncircular mouth and having also a glass much thicker at one side than at the other. The washer of my improved seal, however, has easily shifted out of center with the cap, so as to locate itself properly in the opening, and has also assumed the non-circular shape of the mouth, so as to fit it closely at all points.

It is understood that any suitable style of cap may be used with my improved washer; but it will be found advantageous to use the plane'cap with depending flanges illustrated, as any irregularities in the shape thereof renand interfere to some extent with its adapting itself to irregularly-shaped b ottle-mouths.

An advantage of the construction of seal described is the protection of the ca from the action of the contents of the bott e, and where a sufficiently dee projection is used the protection also of t e packing-ring. A

further advantage in the use of a plane cap with a separate washer is the facility of decoration of the cap, which is' commercially a valuable feature.

As explained above, the several elements of the seal may be modified in a variety of ways without departing from the essential features of the invention. For example, in Fig. 6 the projection E of the lining member is of annular shape, the center G of the lining member being in the same plane with the rim F. The lining member in this construction is shown separately in Fig. 7. The packing- If the inside of the bottle is not ring is attached to this lining member in any ring B) is accomplished by the use of a proj ection E which is larger below the packingring than at its upper end, where the packin -ring lies. l

n Fig. 10 the Washer is shown the same as in Fig. 1, but the cap A is modified by cutting out the center, thereby utilizin the lining not only to prevent corrosion 0 the ca by contact with the contents of the bottle, but to retain the pressure within the bottle as if it were part of the cap. This form of cap of course may be used with any of the wash,- ers shown. In Fig.' 11 the lining member D has a flat center and no projectin portion. a

In the construction sfiown in Figs. 13 to 23 I (provide a washer having, in addition to the a vantages specified for the embodiments of my invention previously described, certain advantages in manufacture and use which will be specified in detail. In these forms of the invention the lining member is connected with the packin -ring so as to form in connection-therewith a complete article of manufacture adapted for use with various caps or other retaining devices. Preferably, also, this improved washer is made to ossess the same features of advantage as t ose above described in detail. For example, in Fig. 13 my improved washer com rises a packingring B, of rubber, cork, or t e like, and a linmg member comprising a pro'ecting portion:

E, similar to the correspon ing'portion in Figs. 2 and 3, and arim F, the packing-ring being attached to the lining member. The attachment is preferably obtained by a strip of linen, paper, or other suitable fabric -J, which rests on top of the rim of the lining member and extends beyond the same, where it is cemented or otherwise fastened to the projectin portion of the packing-ring B, thus hol ing the packing-ring and lining member together. By the use of the deep projection E the packing-ring is protected .from contact with the contents of the bottle the same as. in Fig. 3, and the acking-ring may thereforebe made of any c hea substitute for rubber or cork, since it is on y necessary that it be air-tight under pressure. Fig. 14 shows the washer of Fig; 13 held in place by a retaining-cap A of the usual design, the action of the parts being substantially identical with the action of the corresponding parts shown in Fig. 3.

Where additional means are used for attaching the packing-ring to the lining memthe pac ber, it is not necessary that there be a roj ecting portion of the lining member to old ing-ring in position. For example,

in Fi s. 15 and 16 the lining member D is a flat isk having its rim F extending partly over the packing-ring B and fastened thereto in any suitable, manner. mode of attachment is similar to that shown in Fig. 13; but instead of the material and propprtions shown therein I may make my pac 'ng-ring B of a thin piece of the best uality packing and may use as the fabric on t e other side of the lining member a thick ring J of cheaper packing material. By this means, as shown in Fig. 16, at the point C, at

p which the actual sealing occurs, only the highest quality of packing B is used, and the seal is consequent y perfect; but the necessary elasticity of the pressure is secured by means of the cheaper packing fabric J on the other side of the linin member D and between such lining mem er and the cap A, through which the ressure is exerted.

' I may 0 course omitthe central projectin portion of the lining when using any desired orm of ring. For example,'in Figs. 17 and 18 I use a acking-ring B and lining member D with a. at central portion connected'by a fabric J, the same as in Fig. 13. The action is the same as the action of the construction shown in Fig. 13, exce t for the loss of the function of the depen in projection E of said figure. I may also su stitute for the depending portion E of Fig. 13 an annular de pending portion E, as shown inFi 19, the packing-ring'B, rim F, and fabric J being arranged in substantially the same way as in Fig. 13 and with substantially the same effect. I propose also as within my invention to modify the acking-rin B of the revious figures by su stituting t erefor, as s own in Fi 21, a rin B of cheaper packing materia combine with a facing B of the best material, these two parts being cemented together, so as to form substantially an integral ring, and being utilized just as the ring B is in any of the previous figures. I may also use a lining member D which is fiat at the center, as shown in Fig. 22,.and which has a rim F which extends the desired distance over the packing-ring B and is then bent backward, as shown, to receive, the packing-ring, and bent outward, as at F, on the under side of the packing-ring, so as to hold it in connection with the lining member. In connection with any form of my complete washer'I may also use the cap A shown in Fig. 23,) which is open at the center, it being obvious that the ming member acts as a seal and that the cap is merely a retaining device.

Various other modifications in the details and arran ement of the parts may be made by those siilled in the art without departure from the essential principles of my invention.

Preferably the In Fig. 10 the cement mentioned above for securing the packing to the member E is indicated at b What I claim is 1. The combination with a metallic external retaining-cap, of a metallic lining of different metal from that of said cap, said cap being of soft metal whereby it may be bent.

under and in direct unyielding contact with a projecting shoulder on the head of the bottle at any point to which the cap may be pressed down.

3. The combination with a retaining-capof a lining therefor having before use a downwardly projecting central portion of soft metal adapted in use to fit and to assume the shape of the mouth of a bottle when pressed downward thereinto, said cap having a plain depending flange and being of soft metal whereby it may be bent under and in direct unyielding contact with a projecting shoulder on the head of the bottle at any point to which the cap may be pressed down.

4. The combination with a retaining-cap of a lining therefor having before 'use a downwardly projecting central portion of aluminium adapted in use to fit and to assume the shape of the mouth of a bottle when pressed downward thereinto, said cap having a plain depending flange and being of soft metal whereby it may be bent under and in direct unyielding contact with a projecting shoulder on the head of the bottle at any point to which the cap may be pressed down.

5. The combination with an external r etaming-cap, of a lining adapted before use to move laterally of said cap and to enter into and center itself upon the mouth of the bottle independently of the lateral position of the retaining-cap, said cap having a plain depending flange and being of soft metal whereby it may be bent under and in direct unyielding contact with a projecting shoulder on the head of the bottle at any point to which the cap may be pressed down.

6. The combination with an external retaining-cap, of a lining adapted before use to move laterally of said cap and having before use a downwardly-projecting central portion of soft metal adapted in use to fit and to assume the shape of the mouth of a bottle when pressed downward thereinto, said cap having a plain depending .flange and being of soft metal whereby it may be bent under and in direct unyielding contact with a projecting shoulder on the head of the bottle at any point to which'the capmay be pressed down.

7. The combination with a bottle of a retaining-cap, and a lining Within said cap hav ing a downwardly-projecting central portion of soft metal fitting the mouth of said bottle, said cap'having a plain de ending flange and being of soft metal where y it may be bent under and in direct unyielding contact with a projecting shoulder on the head of the bottle at any point to which the cap may be pressed down. p

8. The combination with an external retaining-cap, of a washer comprising a liningand a packing -ring fastened together, said washer being movable laterall of said cap so as to center itself on the mout of a bottle independently of the lateral position of the retaining-cap, said cap having a plain depending flange and being of soft metal whereby it may be bent under and in direct unyielding contact with a projecting shoulder on the head of the bottle at any point to which the cap may be pressed down.

9. The combination with an external retaining-cap, of a washer comprising a lining and a packingring fastened together, and adapted before use to enter into and center itself upon the mouth of a bottle independently of the lateral position of the retainingcap, said cap having a plain depending flange and being of soft metal wherebyit may-be bent under and in direct unyielding contact with a projecting shoulder on the head of the bottle at any point to which the cap may be pressed down.

' 10. The combination with an external retaining-cap, of an annular packing-ring, and

pressed down.

taining-cap, of an annular packing-ring, and a lining member adapted to be clamped between the top of the cap and the .packingring and to bear upon thepacking-ring alone, said lining member being movable independently of the cap so as to center itself over the mouth of a bottle independently of the lateral position of the cap, said cap having a plain depending flange and being of soft metal whereby it may be bent under and in direct unyielding contact with a projecting shoulder on'the head of the bottle at any point to which the cap may be pressed down.

12. The combination with an external retaining cap, of an annular packing-rin and a lining member D having a central own. wardly-projecting ortion E lying within the packing -ring, and clamped between the top of the cap and the a rim]? adapted "to be 11. The combination with an external repacking-ring and to bear upon the packingring alone, said cap having a plain depending flange and being of soft metal whereb it may be bent under and in direct unyiel ing contact with a projecting shoulder on the head of the bottle at any point to which the cap may be pressed down.

13. In a receptacle-closure, the combination of a gasket fitting over the top edge of a receptacle and provided with an opening, a protecting device comprising a'depressed portion and an outwardly-extending fiat portion, the latter fitting over the gasket and compressing said gasket'against the top edge of the receptacle-mouth, and the depressed port-ion of the protecting device fitting in the opening of the gasket and entering the mouth of the receptacle and held in wedging contact with the interior wall of the receptaclemouth, the said protectin device being composed of a material whic is impervious to and which will not deleteriously aifect the liquid coutents 'of the receptacle, a cap fitting over the gasket and the protectin device and over the receptacle-mouth, an means for holding said cap in place over the bottlemouth.

14. A bottle-closure comprising a member having an opening in its top and a depending flange to lie on the exterior ofithe bottle, a second member closing the opening in the top of the first member and being of soft non-corrosive material which is exposed at said opening and which, when the cap is applied to the bottle bears against a portion thereof at the mouth, and apermanently-attached gasket within the closure, said flange being ada ted to be bent into locking engagement wit an exterior shoulder on the bottle at any point z to which the closure may. be forced down.

15. A closure for bottles comdprising a member having a portion to exten engagement therewith, a gasket to fit over the top edge of. the bottle-mouth, a cupdown on the outer side of the bottle to have holding gas st and adapted to extend into the mouth of the bottle to contact with the inner wall of said mouth, said gasket being permanently attached to the cupshaped member, substantially as described.

1-6. In combination with a bottle having a lip rounded on its side and inner edge, a sealing member having-a portion extending into the'bottle-mouth and substantially tangential to the. said rounded inner edge forming a crevice contracting toward the bottle-mouth, and a packing resting on the bottle-lip and underlying and pressed upon bya portion of the said sealingmember, and a part to 'be locked to the exterior of the bottle, substantially as described. I

17; The combination in aclosure of a member consisting of a retaining-cap, a second member providing a downwardly-projecting central portion of soft metal adapted in use to -fit and assume the shape of the bottle when pressed down into engagement therewith and a permanently-carried gasket within the ca said ca being flanged for engagement wit ll-a shoul der on the exterior of the bottle when it is bent thereunder, substantially as described.

18. The combination in a closure of a member consisting of a retaining-cap, a second member providing a downwardly-projecting portion adapted to have lateral movement In respect to the cap to adjust itself to the bottle and being of soft metal to conform under pressure to any irregularities in the portion of the bottle with which it contacts, and a yieldin gasket carried within the cap, substantia ly as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, GEORGE H. GILLETTE. Witnesses:

DOMINGO A. UsINA, FRED WHITE. 

